Oak Ridge Page 4
“An orb you say?” one of the agents said as the three walked outside and headed toward their vehicles.
“Yes, I have a photograph of the orb, along with the GPS coordinates of where it was taken. I suggest we head there first and see if we can obtain some evidence before something disturbs it. Afterwards, we can meet those that have returned and examine their medical records.”
As the agents were new in town, Sheriff Jameson offered to drive. Agent Delaney sat in the front seat and Agent Torres was in the back. They exited the small downtown core, drove through a residential neighbourhood, and stopped at a railroad crossing. A long train happened to be rolling through town so they had no choice but to wait. It actually allowed the officers a chance to talk.
“Have either of you ever seen anything like this before?” the Sheriff asked, referring to the strange incidences affecting his community.
“Nothing quite like this,” Agent Delaney said.
“Got any theories of what it might be?” the Sheriff asked.
The agent took a moment to answer. He obviously did not have much time to consider the new details in the case, but he postulated a guess anyway. “Well, if what you’ve described turns out to be true, and there is some sort of portal in the woods, then maybe what we have here is a hiccup in time.”
“Excuse me?”
“Forgive me, Sheriff, I’m just sort of thinking out loud here.”
“Sure, the floor is yours.”
“Imagine if you will a needle skipping on a record — it repeats the same note over and over. What if there is a similar hiccup in time that, much like the needle, is stuck on repeat. This portal could be some kind of gateway — a tear in space and time whereby past versions of people are able to travel through it and seemingly come back from the dead.”
“A time hiccup?” the Sheriff repeated, not necessarily dismissing the idea.
“Some say there are infinite universes, each one different than the next; all the possibilities of your life being played out simultaneously in a separate universe. In one universe, you are a Sheriff of a small town, in another you may be the President of a country. It could be that there is some sort of anomaly occurring in your town where an alternate dimension is rubbing up against this dimension, like two bubbles bumping into each other.”
“Then people from that other dimension could theoretically transport from one universe to another,” the Sheriff said, completing the agents thought.
“Exactly.”
“So the returned are not people from this universe coming back from the dead, they are actually alternative versions of that person from some other universe. So somewhere, in some other universe, people are suddenly going missing and showing up here,” the Sheriff said.
“And people here are suddenly going missing and showing up over there,” the agent said.
“I suppose it is a viable solution that would explain all the mysteries.”
“It’s just a wild theory at this point, but perhaps we will be able to confirm our wild theory with a little more investigation into the matter.”
Chapter Eleven
Jerry and Linda Brills spent their Sunday morning packing. Clothing, dishes, electronics, and keepsakes – it was all being loaded into their car. They planned to come back at another time for the rest of their furniture, as well as to clean everything out from Jerry’s law office. For now, they were just concentrating on getting out of Oak Ridge as soon as possible.
“Are we going somewhere?” Charlie said, speaking for the first time since being home.
Jerry and Linda stopped what they were doing and immediately approached him. Linda started crying immediately and hugged him. Jerry was getting choked up as well, but remained a few feet away.
“Yes, Charlie, we are going to stay with your Aunt Suzie. You remember her, don’t you?”
Charlie shrugged and responded with a question of his own. “Why are you crying?”
“I’m just really happy, dear.”
“Why are you looking at me like that, mum?”
“Charlie, you were missing for a very long time and your father and I are just so glad to have you back.”
“Do you remember where you were?” Jerry asked.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t remember being missing. What are you guys talking about?”
“Maybe we should finish packing and discuss this some other time,” Jerry said.
“Okay.”
“Charlie, why don’t you take a couple of boxes and pack everything you want to take with you to Aunt Suzie’s?”
Charlie took two boxes and ran up to his room while his parents watched on with joy.
“So we’re just going to ignore the fact that our son disappeared nine months ago and suddenly shows up left handed?”
“The universe has given us a second chance at being a family, Jerry. Let’s not ruin it by getting hung up on small details.”
Jerry stepped forward and hugged his wife, showing his commitment to the noble lie they were choosing to tell themselves. They were not sure who this version of Charlie was or where he had come from, but aside from a few minor details, he appeared every bit the same as his former self. They were living with some kind of imposter and wondered if any of the other families had figured it out as well. Perhaps those families were also choosing to ignore the truth. Either way, it didn’t really matter. As a family, Jerry, Linda, and Charlie were together again.
THE END
About the author
Edward Mullen is a novelist, blogger, and podcaster from Vancouver, Canada. Prodigy Returns is his fifth novel.
Born and raised in beautiful British Columbia, Edward developed a love for the wilderness. This love, combined with an innate curiosity about all things, eventually spawned a healthy imagination for storytelling.
Despite spending a lot of his time indoors writing, Edward continues to enjoy the outdoors. He is an avid tennis player, mountain biker, snowboarder, runner, and traveller.
For more information about Edward Mullen, such as his podcast, blog, or upcoming books, please visit:
www.EdwardMullen.com
Thank you for reading and sharing, it is much appreciated!
Edward Mullen